Grown Ups: The Review

Grown Ups was one of my most anticipated movies of the summer, so I gathered the crew and we ventured out to see the movie starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider on opening night. Was I disappointed? No. Was I thrilled? No. Was I pleased? Yes. So what kind of shitty assessment is that? Let me tell you.

When you group the five real-life comedic friends together for a movie, the expectation for a top-notch comedy comes to the forefront. When friends get together there is a certain chemistry that happens. Jokes roll off the tongue and fall in the right places, it's just a bunch of friends having a good time. That is what the movie does well.

Sandler and James do their part to keep the pace of the movie going forward. They provide a solid foundation, while Spade plays the same lady-loving single man that we are accustomed to from him - see Rules of Engagement. Rock adds basically nothing to the movie except for some random one-liners, but then again that's basically what I would expect from him. He plays a stay at home punk of a man used to being verbally assaulted by his wife and kids - that probably isn't far from what I would imaging his true life to be. Schneider plays a weird little man - like normal. I don't really know if you can script him in any other role, but it is a role we are used to seeing from him. As different as each of the characters are in the movie, it goes to show you that good friends stick together no matter what the circumstances and life brings to the table.

The plot is centered around five kids that won a basketball championship together. They are brought back  together after their championship coach died and the five friends spend a holiday weekend with their families at a cabin they enjoyed as children.

The movie premise is great. The movie flowed well and the idea behind the five friends reuniting and picking up where they left off is what makes the movie what it is. It was overall entertaining and it was a good movie from that aspect. If you are going to this movie expecting one of the greatest comedies ever made, you will be disappointed, but that is not what this movie is about. It is about friends remaining friends after years of not being together and for that it portrays an incredible message: Friends will band together in tough times.

Knox Animal Rating: 3.5/5 

(Strong message of friendship)

Landon Donavon Man's Up

 Photo by: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

United States midfielder Landon Donavon celebrates his winning goal in the 91st minute against Algeria to send U.S.A. to the second round. After what should have been seen as a game of missed opportunities for the United States, Donavon decided to step up his game in stoppage time and knocked in the game-winner. If you ask me, it was about damn time the star of the U.S. team finally stepped up.

Money In Pocket, Haynesworth a No Show

Why would Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth show up for mandatory mini-camp? It's not like he has anything to play for.

The Redskins already gave him a monstrous $100 million deal last year and he already has $32 million in his pocket. The team switched up their defense from a 4-3 that helped the team to a 3-13 record last year to a 3-4 to hopefully improve this year. It would seem to make sense that a player would want to do anything to help the team, especially when they are being paid record breaking amounts of money. However, that is not the case with big Albert. He is special and obviously doesn't care about the team or helping the team in whatever way he can - he is just another selfish player with no loyalty to a team that gave him a ridiculous contract.

Chris Johnson Knows How To Spell

With Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson unhappy with his contract, the All-Pro issued some grammatical masterpieces on his Twitter page earlier today.

"Just got off the phn w/ my agent & its not gd news I'm feeling lk @Revis24 rt now at least dey offering him something dey not offering me nothing."

"Its like how u expect ur players to give they all and put their bodies on the line when you not willing to give them what they deserve."

"How do u wnt player 2 honor their contract but the team dont have 2 honor it. If u dont wnt 2 pay a player early dont cut a player early."

Maybe this whole contract thing is just a big misunderstanding and the Titans don't really know what Johnson wants because he is clearly speaking in a different language.

Strasburg As Advertised

If there was any doubts about whether phenom pitcher, Stephen Strasburg was ready for the Major Leagues, there aren't any now. The 21-year-old dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Washington Nationals picked up a 5-2 win, the first of Strasburg's career. The rookie notched 14 strikeouts, walked none and gave up only four hits - one of which was a two-run homer to Delwyn Young.

It can be argued that the Pirates are a terrible team and some may even reserve judgment until Strasburg pitches against a legit contender. Whatever the case may be, this guy is for real. I am willing to bet that this is not the last time we will be talking about a dominant Strasburg performance - no matter who he is facing.

Dumbass Video Clip of the Day

Ump Blows Call, Costs Galarraga Perfect Game

 Photo - AP

What would have been perfection is now a mere afterthought as umpire Jim Joyce cost Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game with the worst call in the history of sports.

After having seen Dallas Braden (Oakland) and Roy Halladay (Philadelphia) toss perfect games this month, Galarraga saw his shot at perfection stolen from him - not because of a mistake he made, but because of an umpire mistake. If there was ever an argument for instant replay in baseball, this is it.

A situation like this proves that everybody is human and everybody makes mistakes, but holy shit this cost a kid perfection. In the history of Major League Baseball there has never been three perfect games thrown in a single season. I'm usually not a fan of using the phrase "should have or could have", but seriously this was supposed to be the third perfect game this season - a new MLB record.

 

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires After 22 Seasons

Ken Griffey Jr. retired tonight after 22 MLB seasons. The news is sad, but not shocking as it was obvious that the game was not the same to him anymore. He was hitting a mere. 184 with no homers and seven RBI this season in very limited appearances. That probably wasn't how one of the greatest players to ever play the game wanted to go out, but his accomplishments won't be forgotten.

Griffey finished his career with 630 homeruns, the fifth most in history. He was a 13 time All-Star and won 10 Gold Gloves.

What began in Seattle in 1989, finished in Seattle in 2010. With stops to Cincinnati and Chicago in between, the Kid will always be a Mariner. Griffey was the game's best player in his prime and there is no question that he will be remembered as one of the best.

The Hangout Music Festival: The Bad

With so many good things to say about the Hangout Music Festival (see here), there were a few glaring issues that I encountered while there.

Weather Back-Up Plan
Everybody knows that some serious storms can happen while at the beach, so why wasn't this thought of before hand? Yes, there were tornado warnings and the rain was coming down pretty damn hard, but you simply cannot tell people that they must exit the festival premises and then wait around until another announcement is made. Where the hell are the people supposed to go? Well, I was inside the Hangout restaurant hanging out, drinking beer and eating a Po-Boy. For me it worked out, but when the rain stopped and people were allowed back in is when the real chaos started.


Sunday Re-Entry
I'm not quite sure why, but whoever was in charge decided to make the re-entry Sunday free of charge Sunday. Whether you had previously purchased a day ticket, had a three-day wristband didn't matter because the brains behind the operation decided to allow Joe Schmo off the street the same access as you. You know, some people had to save a lot of money for this concert and it was a slap in the face when the money you forked over got you the same access as somebody who didn't pay anything. I know the money went to a good cause, but seriously - if people had to pay for a show, all people should have to pay for a show.

What made this issue even worse for my group of travelers was that the artists that played Sunday were pretty much the main reason we decided to attend the Hangout Festival. Matisyahu, Michael Franti, Guster, Ben Harper, Ray LaMontagne and Trey Anastasio were the main artists that got me to buy a ticket. When it became clear that I could have seen those artists without buying a ticket, I was pretty pissed - and I was not the only one. I didn't have a problem paying to see them especially when the money was going towards the Gulf Shores clean up effort, I just didn't want people that didn't pay a dime to be able to experience the same thing as the people who forked over their hard-earned money.

The Matisyahu Ordeal
This was probably the most glaring issue of the weekend and unfortunately it is how the festival ended. Earlier during the weather delay, it was announced that Matisyahu would still be performing during some point of the day. This made my buddy and I pretty happy since he was one of the main reasons for traveling to the Hangout Music Festival in the first place. As

Overall Communication
When the torrential downpours came through the Hangout on Sunday, there seemed to be no backup plan. It seemed like a lot of decisions were made on a whim and for a rain or shine festival, this was unacceptable. Around 2:00 p.m., the rain worsened and the Hangout Festival was delayed. We happened to be in the Hangout restaurant at the time and around 3:00 p.m. announcement came over the speakers that said the Festival would be delayed until 4:00 p.m. or later. It also went on to say check back on some radio station for updates. Well, we didn't have anything better to do so we stayed in the Hangout and ate lunch and had some drinks while we waited the thing out.

Another announcement came on and said that certain artists would be playing their sets that day. Okay, that's cool - we were pumped. We headed out to the beach, but nobody really knew where to go since they didn't announce when anybody would be playing. Luckily I had my phone and could check Facebook and Twitter for updates. Seriously, why wasn't there any updates at the festival itself. It wasn't until later on did they post the modified schedule on the screens.


Between that and the Matisyahu ordeal, the festival needs to do a much better job in letting the crowd know what's going on. Yes, it was the first year of the festival, but communication is one of the most important things when entertaining a large group of people. If this festival happens again, the overall communication must be better.


Closing Thoughts
Overall, this festival had many things to proud about. However, the issues addressed above were very critical. While, I had a great time all weekend, my group was left with a bitter feeling about how Sunday was handled. If this festival takes place again, I would expect some thought to go into the decision making if there is another weather forced delay. The ticket holders are your customers, don't piss the people off that paid good money to see your product.